Kedzie Brown Line station will serve as route terminal beginning July 13
In continuation of the Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) efforts to bring its infrastructure to a state of good repair, the agency today announced that it will temporarily close the Kimball Brown Line station for nine days beginning early Saturday, July 13, to allow crews to replace track and rail system components that are 50 years old and beyond their useful life.
Crews will replace approximately 700 feet of deteriorated ties, rail, ballast, special track components and the power and signaling systems that are in place along the three sets of track that feed into the Kimball station terminals.
“These tracks have been in service since this portion of the Brown Line was extended back in 1963, and repair work is no longer sufficient – everything must be replaced in its entirety,” said CTA President Forrest Claypool. “This work is essential to ensuring that we provide safe and reliable service to the 1.3 million customers who access Brown Line trains via the Kimball station each year, and we appreciate our customers’ patience during this project.”
Beginning 2 a.m. Saturday, July 13 until 4 a.m. Monday, July 22, the Kimball terminal will be closed and all Brown Line trains will start and end service from the accessible Kedzie Brown Line station, which is approximately 0.4 miles southeast of Kimball. The main station entrance located on Kedzie Avenue is accessible and should be used by those with mobility devices or those traveling with bicycles, strollers, luggage or other large objects. Customers can also enter/exit the station using the Spaulding Avenue entrance, which is equipped only with a high-barrier gate and is not ADA accessible.
As a result of project work, there will be street and sidewalk closures on Kimball Avenue adjacent to the construction site. Pedestrians will need to use the west sidewalk on Kimball between Lawrence and Eastwood. In addition, #82 Kimball buses will be temporarily rerouted to serve the Kedzie station. Northbound #82 buses will operate via Kimball, Montrose, Kedzie to Lawrence and resume the regular route north on Kimball. Southbound #82 buses will travel the reverse route.
Project work is being performed by Kiewit with a total construction budget of approximately $4.6 million, which is funded by a 2009 Regional Transportation Authority grant.
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